On Jan. 12, 2013, V2 Cigs was the first e-cig company to launch a brick-and-mortar retail product-sampling campaign. Held at Pilot Food Stores in Tenn., the program featured demo teams that approached customers who were observed buying tobacco products. Customers who showed proof-of-age ID were given a buy-one-get-one-free coupon and product demonstration.

Verleur points out that V2 Cigs is responding to a critical mass of demand from both c-store retailers and consumers. That demand is being driven by the year-over-year decline of tobacco sales and the skyrocketing public interest in e-cigs. To capitalize on this seismic shift, V2 Cigs has debuted a multi-channel marketing program that Verleur says offers a "Total Retail Solution" for electronic cigarette sales.

a full array of merchandizing options, including small-footprint displays.

This integrated channel mix is supported by other relevant messaging geared not only for impressions, but customer engagement. Some recent examples of V2 Cigs' marketing innovation include:

V2 Cigs held a sampling event at Venice Beach, Calif., as part of a successful effort to set a world record for the most e-cigarettes used simultaneously in one place.

V2 Cigs' sister brand, Vapor Couture, the only e-cig designed exclusively for women, was featured at WIRED magazine's pop-up retail expo in NYC's Times Square.

V2 Cigs included a sampling component at a Halloween Bash fundraiser the company sponsored to benefit the Little Lighthouse Foundation.

On Jan., 27, 2013, V2 Cigs brought its sampling program to the KISS Country Chili Cookoff, a day-long music festival headlined by country music's biggest stars, where V2 Cigs used iPads to qualify and collect 2,000 new discreet names.

For more information regarding the revolution of brick-and-mortar retailing of electronic cigarettes, the industry-setting V2 Cigs multi-channel sampling program or for an interview with V2 Cigs CEO Andries Verleur, please contact Lindsey Carnett at (310) 994-7380.